DKA is a serious condition and some cats die of it but MANY cats here have survived it.
While your cat is at the hospital you have a little time to read up on diabetes and get prepared.
Here are some useful links:
1. Diabetes related FAQs:
http://binkyspage.tripod.com/faq.html
2. Hometesting Tips & Tricks:
http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=287
3. Ketones and how to test for them:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/phorum5/read.php?8,1299632
4. Hypoglycemia Treatment (when your cat's blood sugar is too low or dropping fast):
http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=1122
5. Janet & Binky's Food Charts (look for food with under 10% carbs):
http://binkyspage.tripod.com/canfood.html
6. Nutrition Basics for Felines (Dr Lisa's Site, including transitioning to wet food from dry, diet and feline health issues, making cat food):
http://catinfo.org
For home testing your cat's blood glucose, you can get a cheap glucometer at Wal-Mart (ReliOn brand). Otherwise i'd buy the Bayer Ascensia Contour glucometer with a free rebate (you'll often see the rebate in your Sunday paper) and get the test strips on eBay (about $30 for 100 test strips).
By home testing your cat's glucose you'll save thousands of dollars not having to test glucose at the vet, and you'll be able to see for yourself how your cat is doing on insulin.
Initially, here's what i'd buy at the pharmacy:
1. Regular human blood glucose meter (glucometer)
2. Test strips for the glucometer
3. Lancets (28 to 30 gauge) to poke the ear and get blood
4. Cotton balls to hold against the other side of the ear when you poke, and then to apply light pressure to the ear to minimize bruising
5. Ketone test strips to test urine periodically to make sure your cat doesn't have ketones, a serious condition that could result from inadequate insulin, inappetance, or a possible infection
6. Neosporin/polysporin or Neosporin/polysprorin with pain relief to rub on your cat's ears every 3 days or so at the beginning to minimize scabs
7. Syringes you'll probably get from the vet, but you can buy them cheaper from hocks.com (around $16 for 100 syringes), which is linked thru FDMB and gives it a small commission. The link should be on the top or bottom left of this page. Whether you get U100 or U40 insulin, you can use U100 syringes with half unit markings in order to dose more precisely (we use a conversion chart to use U100 syringes with U40 insulin, or we count each hatchmark as 0.2u of U40 insulin). Many of us use U100 syringes, 5/16" needle, 3/10 cc, 31 gauge. i buy the GNP brand as it's cheapest. Make sure you buy the ones with half-unit markings, so you can use small dose increments. Some Wal-Marts also have U100 syringes with half unit markings. They're about $2 cheaper than at hocks.com if they have them.
Two extremely important aspects of diabetes care have been championed for years at FDMB: (1) home testing your cat's blood sugar and (2) switching to a 100% low carbohydrate canned/wet food diet (no more dry food unless your cat will absolutely not eat otherwise). With home testing and low carb wet food, many cats have gone into remission after a short time on insulin.
Most people here were very scared when their cats were first diagnosed, especially at having to inject insulin and home test glucose, but we all learned amazingly quickly. After a little while you'll be able to test/inject your cat while doing other things or even while talking on the phone. It just takes minutes a day. It's almost impossible to know whether your diabetic cat has high or low numbers without testing, plus it empowers you to partner with your vet in treating this disease.
:mrgreen: Kath